Forty-One
FORTY-ONE
The moving truck parks in front of the house, and the guys and I walk out to meet it. It’s moving day, and Dantè and Malik came up to help us.
I found a house not far from campus so that Dagen doesn’t have to travel far, and something that will sell easily when it’s time to go back to Cattywump Bay. It took a lot of talking, but I was able to make Vaughan see that it was best for Dagen to live here with me rather than at her house with her friends. On days I have to go to Mississippi, she’ll either stay at the house with the girls, or one of them will come here. Kinsley volunteered to come live with us, but reminded her that her bosses may have a problem with that.
Just as the back gate of the truck rolls up, a caravan of trucks and cars comes pulling up behind us. Malik, Danté and I all watch as a hoard of people climb out.
The door opens and I turn to see Dagen standing there with her mouth hanging open.
“Hey baby bird. Hi Hendrix,” Vaughan calls as he walks over to us. “We’re here to help.”
Behind him stands Camille, followed by all of her aunts and uncles. All but the younger one, Ana I think. I assume it’s because she is very pregnant. Dagen is a whole ten weeks along so she has a ways to go before she gets that big.
“Dad. Is this really necessary?” Dagen holds her arm out wide, motioning to our unexpected help.
“Yes. It is most definitely necessary. Guys, you all help me. Ladies, you’re on unboxing duty.”
Everyone says hello and breaks off into their respective groups. Danté and Malik step into the truck and I hear the redhead say to the tall one, “Thank you, Jesus, for these beautiful specimens. I could eat those boys up.”
I snort and cover my mouth.
“Viv, you have a husband. A very tall, very angry, very jealous husband. I’m pretty sure he’d have something to say about you eating those boys.”
“But what a wonderful last meal they would be,” she purrs.
“Vivian. Stop assaulting those boys with your eyes and dirty thoughts. Go!” Camille orders, pushing at her back.
“Fiiine. I’ll go. But when the shirts start flying off, I’m going to need a bowl of popcorn and a glass of wine for the show.”
Dagen shakes her head and pops up on her toes to kiss me. “Please tell Mal and Danté I apologize in advance for any inappropriate groping from my Aunt Viv. But remind them that she’s married to that very large man over there.” She points to Phoenix who picks up a heavy box like it’s a box of cereal and not piles of shoes and books.
She hustles into the house with her mom and aunts, and I join the guys who are staring at the open end of the truck.
“You didn’t really bring a whole lot with you,” Vaughan points out. “Are you planning to let my little girl sleep on the floor?”
“No, sir. She won’t be on the floor. I let her pick out whatever she wanted a couple weeks ago, and it should be delivered in the next few days. This is just the stuff I needed from my house and then we’ll make a run to get Dagen’s stuff from the other house that we already packed up. We’ll stay at a hotel until it arrives.”
“He’s a goner,” Phoenix tells Vaughan, jabbing at his side and pointing to me. “The man let her decorate the house. That’s equivalent to an engagement ring.”
“That is true,” Luca adds.
I stare at him and wonder if the man is just on supervising duties today as he wears crisp jeans, a pressed white shirt and loafers. I don’t know how they do it in Italy, but we wear ratty old clothes when moving.
“Alright. C’mon y’all. Let’s get this unpacked so we can go grab the rest of Day’s things. I need a beer and burger, but my wife said that’s not happening until her daughter is unpacked and happy.”
We all line up and take turns stepping into the back of the truck, grabbing a box and walking it to the house, where we drop it and let the ladies handle the rest.
At one point, my brothers pull me aside and ask, “Is this how her family is all the time?”
“Yup. Pretty much.”
Danté shakes his head and laughs. “Lucky bastard. Did you see the ass on that little redhead?”
I smack his chest and figure I might as well give one to Mal. “Did you see the temper and muscles on that little redhead’s husband? Or the fucking python arms of his best friend? You’d be wise to keep your eyes diverted from all of these ladies. From what I understand, none of them are above murder if you so much as smile at their women.”
“Looks like you’re in good company, Hen.” Mal cackles then runs off to pester Phoenix.
The man is right. I would choke a man with a smile on my face if he looked at my girl too long. Luckily, it seems that I will always have an alibi and a willing hand and shovel if I need it.
It was a long day of moving and unpacking and chaos, but the extra hands were much appreciated since it made the task go by faster. The massive Mag Creek crew –the name which Dagen said they go by– left right after Vaughan treated everyone to dinner. The kids were all back home with the grandparents, and Bishop was practically in a panic without Anais. I swear that man called her at least fifty times while he was here. Dagen told me that she spoke to Anais and that she begged us to keep him an entire night. I guess she was feeling a bit smothered.
Malik and Danté got a room at the same hotel Dagen and I are at, so we decided it was a nice night to sit by the pool. We grabbed a six pack, got some snacks for Dagen, and now we sit in the hot tub relaxing the overused muscles.
Well, technically only Dagen’s feet are in the hot tub because she shouldn’t be in the hot water. She pouted a bit but stopped when I told her I’d rub her feet while they soaked.
I sit between her legs rubbing her feet as she massages my scalp with her talented fingers.
“Dagen, I don’t know what is in the water down in Magnolia Creek, but your aunts are the hottest group of women I’ve ever seen. I’d include your mom in that but I don’t want to be disrespectful.” Malik rests with his arms propped on the tile surrounding us.
“Hendrix already told me and trust me, I’ve heard it all.”
“Okay good. Because your mama is a fucking MILF. Damn Day. Your dad is a lucky sonuvabitch.” Malik wipes his head when I splash water at his face.
“That man speaks the truth,” Danté adds, looking a little more relaxed and happier than I’ve seen him in some time.
“Yeah, it’s nothing I haven’t heard before. At least you guys aren’t as crude as my friends when they talk about my Uncles and Dad.”
“I heard Vivian talking about Mal and D earlier and I about died.”
“Oh god. She’s the filthiest of them all. She puts the men to shame.” Dagen scoots closer to me, her legs hanging over as if she sits on my shoulders.
“Just my type.” Danté smirks devilishly and I can only imagine the thoughts that play in his head.
I lean my head back and look up at Dagen. Her eyes shine in the moonlight and I think about how dull and lonely my life would be without her.
“You feeling okay, little mouse?”
“Mhm. Just a little tired, but I’m good.” She leans down and kisses my lips chastely, then strokes her fingers over my scruffy jaw.
We continue to talk and drink and laugh as the pool is empty aside from us. But that peace doesn’t last long when a group of rowdy college boys stumble through the gate.
They’re loud and annoying and I immediately feel like I need to call every teacher I ever disrespected. They flop down on several loungers and begin peeling out of their frat boy uniforms. One of them tosses a football as another jumps in to catch it. Water splashes everywhere when the rest of them dive in.
“Ah fuck. There goes our evening.” Mal grows easily perturbed by their presence.
“It’s getting late and we had a long day. I better get Dagen to bed.” I drop her legs and rise from the hot tub, Mal and D doing the same thing.
“Oh okay Dad . I didn’t realize it was my bedtime.” She sasses me and it fires me up.
“Daddy’s gon’ tan that ass of yours if you keep it up,” I growl in her ear.
I see a blush creep across her face, but hear no more protests. I give her a little pat on her ass as we grab our clothes and towels off the chairs. Dagen bends over to slip her feet into her shorts when a football slams into the back of her head.
“Ow!” She yelps.
I snatch the football from the ground and turn to face the guys with murderous rage flowing through my veins.
“Who the fuck threw that?” I bellow.
“Hey. Sorry man. It was an accident. We didn’t mean to.” The guys all watch Danté, Mal and I as we stand like a brick wall in front of Dagen.
“You just hit my girl. I should kick your fucking ass, you know that.”
“Woah. Bro. Relax. It was an accident and he already apologized.” One of the bigger guys wades through the water to speak up.
“Don’t fucking bro me. You apologized to me, not her.” My hands are clenched into white knuckle fists and I can feel them tingle with the itch to beat this guy's face in.
“Hendrix. It’s okay. Let’s just go.” Dagen places her hand on my flexed bicep, trying to talk me down.
“We’re not leaving until these douchebags. apologize for hitting you.” My chest rises and falls with deep, hot breaths.
My brothers step a little closer to me, knowing that if shit is going to go down we need to be ready to guard Dagen.
“We’re sorry, okay. Now can we have our ball back and you guys can go crawl back into the prison cell you broke out of?” Dagen’s head presses against my back and I feel a gush of air across my skin.
“If you only knew who you were talking to, you’d be eating those words you little punk.” Malik tries to clue them in on the fact that we could ruin their lives, but they don’t seem to get it.
I stare them down then take their goddamn football and throw it as hard as I can, over the bushes that surround the pool area and into the parking lot.
“Hey asshole. That wasn’t yours.” The guys start climbing out of the pool and walking towards us.
“Hendrix. Please? Can we just leave?” Dagen’s voice trembles with fear and I can tell she’s on the verge of tears.
“Go get our fucking ball before we beat your ass to a pulp.” The big guy stands at the center of the group, the other five right behind him.
Danté reaches into the pocket of his jeans that he lifts off the chair and pulls out the knife he carries with him everywhere. I hear Malik’s knuckles crack and his neck pop as he rolls it out. Mal is the funny one of the group, but he’s just as twisted and bat shit crazy as Danté and never backs down from a fight.
The three of us step forward to the pack and size them up. It’s six on three but these assholes are soft and probably raised in a country club. They know nothing about trying not to break when the entire world is stepping on your neck, trying to keep her head underwater. We can take them and walk away with barely a scratch.
“You little pricks fucked with the wrong guys. If I were you, I’d gather up my shit and leave now. Open your mouth again and it’ll be the last fucking thing you say.” My eye twitches, praying they make one more sound so I can kick their asses.
They all stand with cocky smirks on their faces and big egos on their shoulders. It’s clear that no one has ever knocked these guys down a peg or two. Or ten like we’re about to do.
“Hey sweetheart. Just nod your head if you’re in danger and we’ll get you away from these psychos.”
I lunge for the guy and hear Dagen screech, “Hendrix! No!” But it’s too late. I’ve already got my hand wrapped around his throat while the other is punching his face. Malik and Danté jump in, beating up a guy of their own, and fists start flying.
One guy doesn’t join in on the fight and walks over to Dagen who is now crying. I don’t hear what he says, but when I see him touch her arm I see red. I break free of the guys who are throwing fists at me, and kick one in the gut.
“Don’t touch her,” I roar just as Dagen takes a step back.
And in slow motion, I watch as my world falls apart. Dagen’s foot gets caught in the chair behind her and she loses her balance. The ground is wet and her other foot slips, unable to stabilize her. Her arms flail as I lunge for her, searching for something to grab onto. I hold my breath when her head slams onto the wrought iron patio table then crashes to the hard tile below.
“Dagen!” I scream and drop to my knees beside her. “Open your eyes. Wake up. Wake up!” Her eyes are closed and her body is limp.
Malik and Dantè come running over and the other guys stand around silently, the fight forgotten.
“Call. Call 9-1-1. Hurry!” Danté reaches for his phone and Malik stays kneeling beside us.
“Don’t touch her, Henny. Don’t move her neck. Keep it still, okay.” Mal talks calmly to me but all I can focus on is her pale face, void of its usual glow.
Malik continues to talk to me, and the guys we were fighting with are now offering support. Sirens wail as they draw near and the world around me grows blurry. It’s hard to see and I can’t understand what’s going on.
I rub my eyes to clear my vision and realize I have tears falling.
EMT’s rush over and begin wrapping her head with something to keep it from moving, but her eyes don’t open.
“She’s pregnant. Please be careful.” One of the emergency techs looks at me with a nod. “Call her parents.”
I grab my shirt and pull it on, then take my phone and pass it off to Malik. He unlocks it with the code and scrolls through my contacts.
“Sir, what hospital are we going to?” I ask, slipping my feet into my sneakers and grab Dagen’s shirt that still sits on the chair.
“Baylor Medical,” he tells me and Malik confirms he heard.
She’s hoisted up onto a gurney and buckled in. They move her to the waiting ambulance and lift her into the back. I climb in after them, sitting out of the way so they can work on her. The doors slam shut and I jerk when we drive away. My hands shake with the need to touch her, the words I said to Vaughan ringing in my ear.
I promise to always take care of them. I promise to always take care of them.
Never make a promise you can’t keep.